Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

"Chambre jaune" or "Yellow Room" is a Belgian 8-minute short film from almost 15 years ago. Luckily, it is that short as it was not a really good watch. They tried so hard to create an atmospheric movie here in the first 7 minutes, but the talent just wasn't there. Style over substance, once again. The ending was intended probably in the most bloody shocking manner (without us seeing a lot), so people would remember this short film, but no success either. It was a very forgettable film with little artistic craftsmanship and I cannot say I am surprised that the duo that made it has not become famous in the last 14 years. Also the film really should be called "Chambre rouge". Good thing for viewers is that nobody is talking, so you won't need subtitles except some random noise in the background. But why would you want to see it. It is closer to a */***** than a ***/*****. Not recommended.

Chambre jaune (2002) *** (out of 4) Well-made homage to the giallo from co-directors Helne Cattet and Bruno Forzani. This 8-minute short features a pretty simple story as there's a beautiful woman being stalked by a person wearing black leather gloves with a razor. Mario Bava and Dario Argento were clearly the influences on these filmmakers and they do those legends proud. This short features some great editing, a nice score and some wonderful sound effects and makes for a good entertainment. If you're a fan of the genre then you'll certainly want to check this out as it's clear who influenced this movie and there are a couple nice winks to those watching the film. The short manages to have some nice intense moments and especially towards the end where the sound effects are used to perfect effect as the razor slowly goes over the woman's body. The lighting is also handled extremely well. Some of the still photos used towards the start got a little old but this is still very much worth watching.